Hyugrai “Ray” Kim (DMA ’19) has been offered the position of Assistant Principal Cello in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Ray was one of only two cellists selected to advance to the Final Round of auditions. Led by music director Giancarlo Guerrero, the 83-member Nashville Symphony performs more than 150 concerts annually and is one of the most active recording orchestras in the US, with 29 releases on Naxos, earning a total of 13 GRAMMY® Awards and 24 nominations.
Congratulations, Ray!
Seulki Lee (DMA ’19) has won a Section Cello position in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Founded in 1997, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the Petronas Philharmonic Hall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its orchestra members comprises musicians from 24 countries, including 7 from Malaysia, a remarkable example of harmony among different cultures and nationalities.
The MPO regularly performs at major cities of Malaysia. Internationally, it has showcased its virtuosity to audiences in Singapore (1999, 2001 and 2005), Korea (2001), Australia (2004), China (2006), Taiwan (2007), Japan (2001 and 2009) and Vietnam (2013). Its Education and Outreach Programme, ENCOUNTER, reaches beyond the concert platform to develop musical awareness, appreciation and skills through dedicated activities that include instrumental lessons, workshops and school concerts. ENCOUNTER also presents memorable events in such diverse venues as orphanages, hospitals, rehabilitation centres and community centres.
Earlier this week, Hyugrai “Ray” Kim (DMA ’19) advanced to the final round of auditions for the position of Assistant Principal Cello in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Ray was one of four Finalists and one of three to advance to the Chamber Music segment of the finals. Now in its 46th season, and led by music director Ken-David Masur, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra perform more than 135 classics, pops, family, education, and community concerts each season in venues throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Congratulations, Ray!
Lou Fancher of the San Francisco Classical Voice profiles Doug Machiz (MM ’11) and his San Francisco-based Friction Quartet. He writes:
Friction Quartet represents one of the glimmers of hope for the future of classical music. They are among the organizations with a willingness to take risks — often, they view the only true failure as a refusal to evolve. These groups shake up long-held assumptions and practices while committing to excellence, not just in performance, but in purpose.
They’ve earned praise and attention for commissioning 43 new works among 80 world premieres, nuanced performances of masterworks from the classical repertory, award-winning appearances at competitions and festivals, and interactive music programs that have the quartet involved in San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music program, Young Composers and Improvisors Workshop, and presentations at Oakland public schools through KDFC’s Playground Pop Up program. A short documentary, Friction, made in collaboration with Meridian Hill Pictures, profiles their early educational outreach in Washington D.C.’s Mundo Verde Public Charter School. A full-length debut album, resolve, was released in 2018, through Bandcamp.
Friction is definitely hip: they have an active social media presence, blog, online videos of covers they play of pop songs by The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Radiohead, and others; they play concerts in clubs and nontraditional venues; and they’ve done gigs like an Intel event earlier this year and the Google holiday party on Dec. 7. (Machiz says about Google: “They found us on the internet, probably through a Google search on string quartets? We don’t have an “in” with them. It’s a mystery to me how people find us.”)
Read the full article at www.sfcv.org.
Next Thursday, December 12, Eunhye Lim (AD ’18) and her Fidelis Piano Trio headline the Austin Chamber Music Center’s event, Beethoven’s Birthday, a special thank-you to ACMC donors and sponsors that will include wine, hors d’oeuvres, and live chamber music. Eunhye and her colleagues will perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3. All who have given $125 or more this year receive an invitation.
For more information, visit austinchambermusic.org.
Next Friday, December 6, Diana Burgess (BM ’15), as member of Mother Falcon, appears at the Austin Trail of Lights’ annual “Night Lights” Preview Party, an exclusive evening kicking off the Austin Trail of Lights 2019 season. Enjoy Austin’s favorite holiday event with a little extra sparkle, and support the Trail of Lights Foundation while you’re at it. Ticket proceeds from Night Lights ticket sales go directly back to the Austin Trail of Lights,
This Saturday, November 23, at 8:00pm, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Tetractys kicks off its 5th season with a bang featuring a Composer Portrait of legendary New York composer and new Austin resident, Annie Gosfield. Joining Tetractys co-founders Matthew Armbruster (MM ’16) and James Burch (DMA ’16) in performing Ms. Gosfield’s works are three other string players and three percussionists.
For venue, ticket and more information, visit
www.tetractysnewmusic.com.
On Sunday, October 20, 2019, at 7:30 PM, Seth Russell (DMA ’19) returns to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall to perform the Cassado Suite for Solo Cello in the 2019 New York International Artists Competition Winners Showcase. For ticket, venue and more information, visit
www.carnegiehall.org.
Longhorn Cellos 